 Or material from a thicker crust on the moon as we investigate the origin of the moon, our nearest neighbor. Fascinating story that China successfully did this in such a short time. I still don't understand. Maybe other people understand it, but I don't understand it. How come we only see one side of the moon? John, the moon is locked on. It's called a synchronous rotator. And in simple, plain English, what we see is when you look at the moon, it's like you take your hand and hold it in front of you.